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Drow
The drow are an offshoot of the elven race, twisted by millenia of worship to their dark, demanding god Lolth. Drow are typically dark-skinned, with white hair, both of which adaptations are believed to be gifts from Lolth, forever marking them as different from surface elves. Drow are sharply divided by gender roles - female drow are priestesses, leaders and artisans, while male drow either serve in the military or are employed as menial servants or labourers. History Shortly after the Dawn War, the elven pantheon suffered a schism. The creation of the Younger Gods, and especially the races they created, offended the sensibilities of Lolth and certain other members of the elven pantheon. Lolth agitated for another war, elves and dwarves fighting against the interlopers. Corellon Larethian and the rest of the pantheon, weary of war, rejected her suggestions, and when Lolth took unilateral action and led a force of elves to destroy a large human city, she was cast out. Her followers were cast out with her, and together they fled Corellon's wrath to hide under the Guardian Mountains. Since then, the drow have built up their forces, spreading from under the Guardians to underground strongholds throughout the continent. Language Drow speak their own language, a version of Elvish with similar writing styles and grammar, but very different vocabulary. The speaking of Elvish is typically punished with death in drow settlements. Government All drow are led by the priestesses of Lolth, and what secular leadership exists is entirely in thrall to the theocracy. Drow settlements are typically lead by a powerful political female called the Matron Mother. Most Matron Mothers are senior priestesses. Military Military service is the only socially-acceptable profession for male drow, and the drow military is extremely effective in its chosen terrain. Only dwarves can match drow for tunnel-fighting, and dwarves lack the mental flexibility that makes the drow military so dangerous. The drow lack a clearly-defined hierarchical structure, which serves the dual purpose of making individual drow units effective in the field and limits the ability of the priestesses of Lolth to dominate the military. Drow unit leaders are trained to use their own initiative and act in accordance with general principles rather than specific orders. Expansion The drow are constantly expanding from their strongholds, looking for resources or places to found new settlements. Unlike dwarves, drow prefer settlements without easy surface access, and this typically drives them to locations dwarves would not chose to settle. Major cities The greatest city of the drow is the mighty underground fortress of Karningul. Carved out of vast underground caverns, legends say that this city was once a surface city, sunk into the depths by the will of Lolth. While countless other settlements of various sizes exist, all owe direct allegiance to Karningul. Relations with other races The drow hate all non-drow with a fierce, xenophobic passion. Dwarves and gnomes are despised for challenging drow underground dominance, but all lesser hatreds are subsumed into the great, universal loathing of the elves. While a truce exists between the drow and their powerful neighbours such as the mind flayers and the duergar, even these ancient accords would be broken at one word from the priestesses of Lolth. Culture Drow artisans are rare - drow culture does not have much space for those who do not directly contribute to society. However, those who exist do find that they share the artistic talent of surface elves, although most of what they make is spider-themed. Religion No other race has so focused a faith as the drow. Lolth, and Lolth alone, is worshipped by the drow - so much as mentioning another deity can be a serious offence, and holy symbols or sacred texts of another faith are destroyed without question if discovered. The worship of Lolth is a cold, calculating faith, preaching the importance of measuring one's position before acting, and destroying one's enemies without giving them chance to reply. The word "fairness" can only accurately be translated into drow as "weakness". Infrastructure The drow have created vast underground highways between their settlements, designed to be wide enough to allow military units to pass with speed and efficiency from one settlement to another. Most roads are also designed to be tall enough to allow battle-spiders to use the walls and ceilings to improve throughput. Category:Races